Note: this is part 2 of 3 in my series of how the new administration may impact environmental law and policy in the Pacific Northwest. For background, please see Part 1. Tribal Relations One of the key factors influencing environmental law and policy in the Pacific Northwest is the presence of and obligations owed to… Continue Reading

I have written extensively on the efforts by the Washington Department of Ecology to revise Washington’s Water Quality Standards to account for a higher fish consumption rate. This summer was when we were supposed to see the final rule be submitted to EPA for review and possible approval. In a nutshell, the controversy around this… Continue Reading

As directed by Governor Inslee back in July, the Washington Department of Ecology released a preliminary draft rule that will ultimately lead to the amendment of Washington’s Water Quality Standards for toxics. This is the next step in a multi-year process under which Washington is adjusting its WQS to account for a higher fish consumption… Continue Reading

Yesterday afternoon, Judge Coughenour issued his decision on the summary judgment motions in the lawsuit brought by Earthjustice on Puget Soundkeeper‘s behalf. The motion alleged that EPA Region 10 violated the Clean Water Act by not promulgating revised water quality criteria for Washington that account for higher fish consumption rates. The case broke just about how… Continue Reading

Note: This is the second guest post by Integral on this subject, it is also worth reviewing their prior post from February on this topic. In addition to the updated national recommended water quality criteria discussed by Doug on May 20, EPA has recently released another document with implications for selection of an appropriate fish… Continue Reading

A quick roundup of some of the articles that caught my eye on Twitter in the past week or so: First, U.S. News‘ Washington Whispers page has a report out on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy seemingly snubbing the press after a private event at the National Press Club yesterday where she gave a presentation on… Continue Reading

I spent much of this morning listening in on the Department of Ecology’s latest Delegates’ Table meeting regarding the ongoing efforts to revise Washington’s Water Quality Standards to account for higher fish consumption rates. The meeting included an update on where Ecology is in the process, Ecology’s current thinking on where the rule making may… Continue Reading

With a hat tip to Ken Lederman at Foster Pepper for getting the release in my inbox before my twitter feed blew up on the subject: This afternoon, Governor Inslee announced a deal with Boeing that involves a special legislative session starting Thursday to implement a number of items in exchange for Boeing producing the… Continue Reading

Erik Smith over at the Washington State Wire just published a great piece on how the fish consumption issue is hanging up budget negotiations in Olympia. This piece, along with Robert McClure’s piece of investigative journalism from a couple months back frame nicely the political component of the fish consumption issue. The current sticking point… Continue Reading

Ecology released its second draft of its fish consumption rate technical document last week. This updates the first version of the document released last October, which resulted in over 300 public comments from various interested parties. I’ve blogged on various issues related to fish consumption over the past few years, including some general background available… Continue Reading

I just ran across this article in the Seattle Times by Cassandra Brooks. What is interesting is that it suggests Ecology is going to revise the standard fish consumption numbers used in setting water quality criteria under its delegated authority pursuant to the Clean Water Act. I’ve checked Ecology’s list of current rulemaking, and all… Continue Reading

About SL&E

Our thoughts on current events in environmental law, science, and policy from the Pacific Northwest. Topics will touch on issues such as climate change, policy decisions made by agencies, regulatory reform and changes, and how these items affect the way business is done in the Northwest. And some interesting science-geeky stuff.

Archives

Locations

Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Vancouver, WA
Long Beach, CA

Stay Connected

About Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP

At Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, we like to think of ourselves as an established firm with strong traditions and fresh ideas. Although our roots in the Pacific Northwest go back more than a century, we pride ourselves on being creative thinkers who are committed to serving our clients, our community and each other in smart and innovative ways.